The Hollow Crown
Watching Henry IV part 1.
Yeah, this isn't as awesome as Richard II. The problem here is that there's way too much of people going "kekekeke" all the time in the pub and that there are too many people around Hal and Falstaff all the time. I know they're trying to make a point of it all being in a very public arena, and yes, Hal spends a hell of a lot of his time being a drunken fratboy, but after a dozen "wheeee!" *everybody in the tavern roars and laughs* moments, it does get tiring (especially when it goes on for the entire first hour). And the noise takes away from some of Falstaff's epic lols, whereas more intimate scenes with less wheeeing and crowds would probably serve the mood better. Hiddles's Jeremy Irons impersonation is hilarious and Simon Russell Beale is excellent, but again, every damn line being answered with a drunken roar from the tavern makes the text far less powerful, somehow. Even though, yes, I *know* it's a deliberate thing, and I can totally understand the point the director is doing there. It makes Falstaff's humilation and Hal's sadism towards him even more painful to watch, yeah. And they are in a public tavern, so they wouldn't be completely alone anyway--it is a performance and there would be spectators. But I can't help but think more silence would've been more effective. I've seen versions where I've felt way more sympathy for Falstaff in the "banish him not" scene, but here it was all too loud and messy. And again, yes, it probably would've been loud and messy, but loud and messy is not my preference for that particular scene.
Also, Hotspur needs to die, but this is good, as he will. They've made him even more annoying and testosterone-poisoned than he is in the text, which is remarkable. Joe Armstrong's gruffy performance helps.
Hiddles is perfect casting, though. He gets away with a lot because he's got the right mix of posh privileged bastard and intelligence, while also being incredibly physically attractive. He's actually distracting at times because he's so pretty. That bitchslap was so deserved, in so many ways. (Oh my *god*, you can actually see a slight red flush where Jeremy hit him.)
I also want a TV version with Gareth Thomas as Owain Glyndwr :(
I like the way they've made some of Hal's and Falstaff's most famous speeches into internal monologues. That was a nice touch.
All in all, it wasn't bad, and got better towards the end, although it's one of those Shakespeares where it's hard to deeply sympathise with any of the major characters. And as it is pretty much Falstaff's play, his scenes could've been better. And now I shall torpedo all my intellectual reviewage by handing the keyboard to my genitals which would like to add the following: "BUT OMG AT LEAST WE GOT LOTS OF PRETTY HIDDLESTON, HURF DURF".
Yeah, this isn't as awesome as Richard II. The problem here is that there's way too much of people going "kekekeke" all the time in the pub and that there are too many people around Hal and Falstaff all the time. I know they're trying to make a point of it all being in a very public arena, and yes, Hal spends a hell of a lot of his time being a drunken fratboy, but after a dozen "wheeee!" *everybody in the tavern roars and laughs* moments, it does get tiring (especially when it goes on for the entire first hour). And the noise takes away from some of Falstaff's epic lols, whereas more intimate scenes with less wheeeing and crowds would probably serve the mood better. Hiddles's Jeremy Irons impersonation is hilarious and Simon Russell Beale is excellent, but again, every damn line being answered with a drunken roar from the tavern makes the text far less powerful, somehow. Even though, yes, I *know* it's a deliberate thing, and I can totally understand the point the director is doing there. It makes Falstaff's humilation and Hal's sadism towards him even more painful to watch, yeah. And they are in a public tavern, so they wouldn't be completely alone anyway--it is a performance and there would be spectators. But I can't help but think more silence would've been more effective. I've seen versions where I've felt way more sympathy for Falstaff in the "banish him not" scene, but here it was all too loud and messy. And again, yes, it probably would've been loud and messy, but loud and messy is not my preference for that particular scene.
Also, Hotspur needs to die, but this is good, as he will. They've made him even more annoying and testosterone-poisoned than he is in the text, which is remarkable. Joe Armstrong's gruffy performance helps.
Hiddles is perfect casting, though. He gets away with a lot because he's got the right mix of posh privileged bastard and intelligence, while also being incredibly physically attractive. He's actually distracting at times because he's so pretty. That bitchslap was so deserved, in so many ways. (Oh my *god*, you can actually see a slight red flush where Jeremy hit him.)
I also want a TV version with Gareth Thomas as Owain Glyndwr :(
I like the way they've made some of Hal's and Falstaff's most famous speeches into internal monologues. That was a nice touch.
All in all, it wasn't bad, and got better towards the end, although it's one of those Shakespeares where it's hard to deeply sympathise with any of the major characters. And as it is pretty much Falstaff's play, his scenes could've been better. And now I shall torpedo all my intellectual reviewage by handing the keyboard to my genitals which would like to add the following: "BUT OMG AT LEAST WE GOT LOTS OF PRETTY HIDDLESTON, HURF DURF".